Tehran: Iran on Tuesday released 140 people detained in Iran`s postelection turmoil and the supreme leader ordered the closure of a prison where human rights groups say jailed protesters were killed, in a nod by authorities to allegations of abuses in the crackdown on protests.
The pro-reform opposition has been contending for weeks that jailed protesters and activists were being held in secret facilities and could be undergoing torture. Authorities appear to be paying greater attention to the complaints after the son of a prominent conservative died in prison — reportedly the same one ordered closed Monday.
Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi sharply condemned the wave of arrests and deaths, saying the Iranian people "will never forgive them."
The last official word of the number of people in prison from the crackdown was around 500, announced several weeks ago, and arrests have continued since. The heavy crackdown was launched to put down protests that erupted following the June 12 presidential election, in which hard-line incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner but which the opposition says was fraudulent.
Among those detained are young protesters, as well as prominent pro-reform politicians, rights activists and lawyers. At least 20 people were killed, according to police, though rights groups say the number is likely far higher.
A parliament committee investigating prisoners` conditions visited Tehran`s main prison Evin on Tuesday, and during the visit 140 detainees connected to the protests were released, said Kazem Jalili, a spokesman for the committee, according to the semiofficial ISNA news agency.
Another 150 remain in Evin because weapons were found on them when they were arrested, he said. The names of those released were not immediately known. There was no new word on the current total in prisons around the country.
The head of Iran`s judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, promised on Monday that the public prosecutor would review the situation of all the postelection detainees within a week and decide whether to release or bring them to trial, the state news agency IRNA reported.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, meanwhile, ordered the closure of Kahrizak prison, on Tehran`s southern outskirts, Jalali told the Mehr news agency. "It did not possess the required standards to ensure the rights of the detainees," he said. The closure order was announced Monday in the official IRNA news agency, though the prison was not identified.
Opposition mourning ceremony banned
Iran has denied the opposition a
permit for a ceremony to mourn people slain in protests over
last month`s presidential election, the interior ministry
today said.
"No permit has been issued for gathering and marching
for any individuals or different political groups," Mahmoud
Abbaszadeh Meshkini, the ministry`s political director, told
the Fars news agency.
He said the ministry had received "a note signed by
two presidential candidates, who were not favoured by the
majority of voters, to hold a memorial service for those
killed in post-election events."
Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi
Karroubi, who lost to incumbent hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
had submitted request for a "silent" memorial in Tehran on
Thursday which would feature recitals from the Koran.
Bureau Report
